According to dozens of studies, the most common response to abortion
by far is relief. This is probably because mothers already instinctively know
what other studies have confirmed: unwanted children suffer much higher rates
of social problems and dysfunctionality.

Argument

One of the most faulty arguments against abortion is that
it causes severe depression and trauma to the mother. Abortion
opponents even claim that women may even suffer Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder -- five, ten or even twenty years later. Pamphlets
handed out by pro-life protesters at abortion clinics usually
start out with lines like "You're hurting."

The experiences of these women are not to be trivialized; most
struggle with the decision to have an abortion, and most feel
sorrow and regret. But the statistics overwhelmingly refute the
claim that these women go on to suffer severe trauma. The predominant
response to abortion is relief. This is confirmed by dozens of
studies that have researched women's reactions to abortions (for
example, Adler, 1975; Burnell, Dworsky, and Harrington, 1972;
Lazarus, 1985; Payne, Kravitz, Notman, and Anderson, 1976; and
Smith, 1973.) (1)

In one famous study, 90% of the women surveyed said their abortion
was the right thing to do. (2)

C. Everett Koop, the Surgeon General under Ronald Reagan, conducted
a study that tried to learn everything it could on abortion and
concluded that the number of women who suffered from post-abortion
trauma was minuscule. (3)

Apparently, a small percentage of women who are hurting
in their ordinary lives decide to have abortions, and link any
later trauma to this experience, but it is clear that abortion
is not the primary source of their problems. As noted psychiatrist
Nada Stotland observed, "There is not one piece of evidence
for such a syndrome." (4)

Part of the problem with the pro-life claim is that they are misusing
the term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Inevitably,
all people experience loss or trauma at some point in their lives.
Normally, they go through a period of disorganization, after which
the healing process begins. In a few years they may be back to
normal. But in a small percentage of cases, the trauma is unusually
severe, and the victims unusually susceptible. PTSD is a well-defined
and extreme condition brought on by extreme circumstances, like
war, concentration camps, brutal rape, disaster or torture. The
symptoms are unmistakably severe: insomnia, anxiety, reliving
the nightmare, withdrawal from society, emotional numbness, extreme
passivity, even refusal to leave one's house. And these symptoms
usually settle in quickly, within weeks of the trauma, and without
treatment usually last a lifetime. They do not lie dormant under the
surface, to resurface five, ten, or fifteen years later. If someone
has PTSD, they will know it beyond all doubt. Fortunately, there are almost
no known cases of PTSD attributable to abortion alone.

However, the fact that the predominant response to abortion is
relief should not lull young women into believing that it is an
easy form of birth control. It's actually the worst and most expensive
form -- there simply is no substitute for earlier and simpler
forms of contraception.

Why relief?

As mentioned above, many women struggle with the decision to have
an abortion. As one social worker writes: "In my work
I have met literally hundreds of women who have made the decision.
I have met few who did not stop and think every year that their
child would be X years old now." Given the negative experience
that abortion undoubtedly is, why is the predominant response
to it relief?

One analogy is divorce. People may feel sorrow and pain from divorce,
but mostly they feel relieved to be getting out of a hellish marriage.
Likewise, women who choose abortion know it's the best of a bad
set of options. Expectant mothers instinctively know when conditions
are not right for raising a child, and that going through with
the pregnancy would result in needless suffering. Again, studies
bear out the wisdom of a mother's instinct. At least 10 studies
-- from nations as diverse as the U.S., Sweden and Czechoslovakia
-- have studied women who wanted abortions but could not get them, or
had unwanted children for other reasons. These studies found that unwanted children
suffer from most of the following:
(5)

More mental handicaps

More psychological disorders, ranging from mild to severe

More borderline psychoses requiring treatment

Poorer social adjustment

Less ability to adapt to frustration and stress

Greater dislike of school

Worse academic achievement

Poorer assessment of intelligence by peers, despite similar
IQ scores

Worse behavioral problems in school

Less higher education

Greater juvenile delinquency

Greater adult criminality

Greater criminal recidivism

Greater alcoholism and drug abuse

Greater welfare participation

Worse family relationships and dysfunctionality

The relief that most women feel from having an abortion most likely
stems from the deeper realization that they are avoiding these
problems.